A woman has been attacked by a dog while walking home to her Tauranga City apartment this morning.

Tauranga acting Sergeant Matt Elliott says the woman was returning to the Monmouth Apartments at Cliff Road and Park Street after taking her dog for a walk when she was attacked just before 10.30am.

A woman was bitten on the hand by a dog while walking to her Tauranga City home.

Matt says a brown dog, believed to be a pitbull, has attacked the woman's dog and when she intervened she was bitten on the hand.

'It seems like a dog that's followed her home has attacked her and she's received some injuries.”

The woman suffered a 'large gash” to her left hand as a result of the dog bite. She was attending to the gash and being comforted by another woman until St John Ambulance could arrive.

Police now have the dog and animal control has been called to remove it, says Matt.

A neighbour, who did not wish to be named, says she heard two dogs fighting.

'All I heard was dogs fighting. We just try to keep to ourselves but I came out to see what all of the racket was about.”